2Lt GEE Kelly
2nd Lieutenant G.E.E. KELLY
Clicking on Photo will return to Page K,L,M
KELLY
2nd Lieutenant George Edward Eccleston

A Company, 2nd Battalion, Australian Imperial Force

Born Victoria
[Birth certificate 1871 23907 Inve Vic]

Educated: Unknown

Single; Incandescent light expert and gasfitter, of 465 High Street, West Maitland, NSW

Next of Kin listed as: Brother; Leo Vivian Kelly, dentist, of Gloucester, NSW

Photos of Lieutenant Kelly are known to exist in the following locations:
Anzac Memorial p47. Sydney Town & Country Journal 30 Sep 1914 p26 & 12 May 1915 p27. Melbourne Herald 8 May 1915 p1


Died of wounds
25th April 1915
in the
central Anzac sector
Aged 40







2nd Battalion, AIF


No Known Grave


Notes:


Father; Rev. Richard Hugh D. Kelly, clergyman, of Millthorpe NSW. (CWGC / Orange Leader 7 May 1915 p2). Mother; Mary Ann Kelly (nee Pittman).

Fought in South African (Boer) War; enlisted from New England district, NSW; promoted in the field, first to Sergeant, then to Lieutenant, NSW Bushman's contingent. (Melbourne Herald 8 May 1915 p8). (Orange Leader 7 May 1915 p2).

Father; the Rev. R.H. Kelly of Millthorpe, NSW. (Argus 7 May 1915 p8).

Mentioned by Lance-Corporal Gaebel, 2nd Battalion, in a letter to his sister dated 30th April 1915:
'Major Gordon, our Company commander, was killed, Captain Dignam seriously wounded, Lieutenant Kelly killed....' (Armidale Express 9 July 1915 p2).

Letter from Private W.R. Dilley (shot in ribs) from Heliopolis Hospital, Cairo, to his father, Robert J. Dilley (manager of Wolstenholme's cordial factory), West Maitland, NSW, under date May 3 1915:
'The boys from Maitland had a bad time. Lieuts. Solling and Kelly were shot dead, and Major Scobie wounded. The latter is at Alexandria doing well. Poor old Lieut. Kelly was so well liked amongst his men. I am being nursed by Lieut. Solling's sister. Nurse Stobo [Colonel Scobie's sister] came in last night and broke the news to her of her brother's death. She seems to be taking it very hard. Tell all my friends and relatives I am getting on all right. I am keeping the bullet they extracted from my wound.' (Maitland Weekly Mercury 12 Jun 1915 p4).

Another letter from Private Dilley to his father, dated Cairo, 15th May, states:
'Lieuts. Kelly and Solling were shot. The former never moved after being hit.' (Maitland Weekly Mercury 3 Jul 1915 p10).

Casualty list, Sydney Town & Country Journal 12 May 1915 p15; 'Relatives reside at West Maitland, NSW.'

'The Mayor (Alderman C.J. Mannall) has received the following cable from Major Robert Scobie with reference to Maitlanders at the Dardanelles:- 'Solling, Heugh, Kelly, killed. Proctor, Glover, Hobden, Noad, uncertain; Chant, Cradick, Finney, Mayo, Rennie, Goodman, Foster, Vickery, Wildon, wounded.' (Maitland Weekly Mercury 29 May 1915 p4).

'We were marshalled on the beach with shrapnel simply making the air seem alive with missiles. General Walker said 'Take off your packs lads, and up you go.' We went and had not gone far when the bullets got very thick. Men were dropping fast. We got to the top of a hill and found a bit of shelter in a Turkish trench, but the leaden hail was worse than ever. Major Gordon stood up and yelled to us to come on. They were his last words; he fell and lay still. We went on with the bayonet. The Turks would not wait to discuss it. We got to another bit of a trench. Here I lost another of my best friends, Lieut. G.E.E. Kelly (son of Rev. R.H. Kelly, of Millthorpe, who was shot through the chest and lived only three hours.' (Letter from Peter Bowling concerning 25 April 1915, in Orange Leader 3 Jul 1915 p8).

'The last seen of the late Lieut. Kelly was on the historic Sunday morning, April 25. He was then leading his platoon up Shrapnel Gully towards the firing line of the left flank. He appeared to be happy as usual and brave. I was very sorry to hear of his death. I also regret the death of another popular lieutenant from your district - the late Lieut. Solling, of whom I had the highest opinion, as he at one time commanded my section in old F Company before new platoon system came into vogue. He was also very popular.' (Letter from Pte. Lesevre to a friend, from 'the front', in Orange Leader 25 Aug 1915 p1).

'A silent but touching tribute to the memory of the late Lieut. G.E.E. Kelly, who gallantly gave his life for the honour of his country and countrymen, while fighting at the Dardanelles, was paid on Saturday night by Mrs. Winter, florist, the window of her business establishment in High-street being specially and beautifully decorated. An enlarged, lifelike photograph of the deceased officer was in evidence, surmounted by a handsome wreath of white flowers, and the grand old Union Jack, the flag of the Empire, under which he made his last stand - and he could not have died more nobly - made a fitting background. It was a deserved tribute to one who had proved himself an eminently useful townsman, whose worth is only being recognised now that he is gone, and as many people lingered to view it as they passed, they felt that Lieut. Kelly, like many comrades who have already fallen, had done his duty nobly and well.' (Maitland Weekly Mercury 15 May 1915 p4). See also (Orange Leader 14 May 1915 'Personal' column).

'At the usual meeting of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, it was unanimously decided to erect a marble tablet in the lodge room in memory of the late Lieut. G.E.E. Kelly, who was one of the most prominent primos of the lodge. Also to print 500 post cards of the late lieutenant, to be sold for the benefit of the Belgian fund.' (Maitland Weekly Mercury 15 May 1915 p4).

'Rev. R. Hugh Kelly, of the Rectory, Millthorpe, wrote - 'His death makes a big gap in our family circle, but we have the consolation of knowing that he fell in the righteous stand his country is making against an unjust, cruel, and all-grasping foe. I shall be very thankful if you will let the public of Maitland know that I, and the sisters and brothers of the late Lieutenant Kelly feel very thankful for the way in which his memory has been perpetuated.' (Maitland Weekly Mercury 15 May 1915 p4).


Lest We Forget


Top Of Page

Back to Anzac officers died at Gallipoli Home Page